New headphones needed, advice or recommendations? Pro Musician

[WaynesterUK]

Hi everyone

I’m a professional musician, keyboard player and vocalist in various bands in the UK

I’m after a new pair of headphones, currently have the Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80 ohms model, I’ve always been underwhelmed by their sound (dunno why) a bit of distortion sometimes, but extremely comfortable to wear and well built

I do not do any recording or mixing at home and currently have my headphones plug straight into my Soundcraft EFX12 Mixing Desk, my keyboards and vocal mics are then plugged into the desk, I can then practise songs along to original tracks I’m learning for my gigs… the tracks are playing from my High Spec Windows PC, straight into my Solid State Logic SSL 2+ Audio Interface, which also goes into my Mixer

are there a set of headphones you’d recommend that will sound awesome for what I use them for?

I have a set of Sony MDR-7506 Coming today off of Amazon (to try) if I hate them, I’ll simply send them back

 

[staticV3]

What's your budget?

Do you need passive noise isolation?

I'm assuming that correcting the headphone's response using EQ on your laptop would not be ideal, as the correction would only be applied to the backing track, but not to your keyboards and mics.

Given how Soundcraft conveniently forgot to specify the output impedance for the EFX12's Phones out, I'm also assuming it's rather high, so a headphone with flat impedance response would be ideal.

 

[WaynesterUK]

Hi thanks for your reply

Noise isolation not essential

I could change EQ on my Windows 11 Pro Desktop PC yeah..

Anyway, I’ve just received Sony MDR-7506 headphones.. thought I’d get them off Amazon UK to “try”

to my ears I enjoy the sound more on the Sonys than the Beyerdynamics playing keyboards into the mixer and then to the headphones, a little less BASS than the Beyers and the Sonys sound brighter…
I even had to turn the headphone volume mixer dial down for the Sonys over the Beyerdynamics, maybe that’s someat to do with the Beyers are 80ohms and the Sonys are 63ohms?

Weird as to WHY Soundcraft haven’t put the impedance for headphones info to check, I wonder why??

 

[staticV3]

I even had to turn the headphone volume mixer dial down for the Sonys over the Beyerdynamics, maybe that’s someat to do with the Beyers are 80ohms and the Sonys are 63ohms?

It's due to differing sensitivity beween headphones.

There's no clear relation between sensitivity and impedance.

 

[kemmler3D]

I've found those Sonys to sound pretty nice at first, but ultimately not clean and kind of exaggerated / harsh in the treble... if you look up Amir's measurements you will see why.

I invested in some Focal Elex a while back and finally the Audeze LCD-XC. Very pricey compared to the beyerdynamics or sonys, but I own both of those also, and haven't pulled them out once in a few years...

In between those ends of the spectrum, AKG and Sennheiser get very high marks from most folks around here.

 

[Dunring]

A couple that I bet you'd like is the Hifiman HE5xx and Thieaudio Ghost. I never needed to EQ either, just all around good tuning. The Ghost sound a lot like the Sennheiser HD600/650 and Hifiman has the planar sound and ear cups large but not cavernous like the Ananda size. I have an audio equipment business and use the HE5xx every day. Both can be powered by an Apple 3.5mm adapter. The Ghost has the higher ohm rating which, might be safer if you don't know the output impedance of your interface.

 

[WaynesterUK]

Was thinking ! after playing my keyboards and singing today (along with the tracks) using the Sony’s, no distortion at all!

Can’t figure out why I’m getting the occasional distortion using my current 80ohm DT770 Pro’s? and I have to turn them up on the headphone dial on my desk to match the Sonys volume

Maybe because my Soundcraft desk isn’t a powered desk, could it be that I should have bought the 32 ohm model of the DT770’s?? Would this perhaps fix things???

 

[staticV3]

could it be that I should have bought the 32 ohm model of the DT770’s?? Would this perhaps fix things???

The 32 ohm model of the DT770 would play louder at the same volume knob position (higher sensitivity).

I don't see how it could fix the distortion.

 

[WaynesterUK]

The 32 ohm model of the DT770 would play louder at the same volume knob position (higher sensitivity).

I don't see how it could fix the distortion.

Then I’m completely at a loss as to WHY the Beyers sometimes distort

 

[WaynesterUK]

Reddit - Dive into anything

www.reddit.com

 

[Curupira]

Before answering, wdym by distortion? Is it a slight hint that the timbres are off, or is it some kind of buzzing sound? I ask because sometimes you have problems in your chain like poor cable contact and faulty wiring. The old Beyers suffer terribly from this, try pressing the connectors and twisting them to see if the "distortion"comes back.

 

[WaynesterUK]

https://gearspace.com/board/so-much-gear-so-little-time/1241469-dt-770-pro-80-ohm-distorting-busy-mix.html

 

[WaynesterUK]

What's your budget?

Do you need passive noise isolation?

I'm assuming that correcting the headphone's response using EQ on your laptop would not be ideal, as the correction would only be applied to the backing track, but not to your keyboards and mics.

Given how Soundcraft conveniently forgot to specify the output impedance for the EFX12's Phones out, I'm also assuming it's rather high, so a headphone with flat impedance response would be ideal.
View attachment 377469

I found this for you, does this show the phones out impedance ?

 

[Robin L]

The AKG K371 headphones have a good conformation to the Harman curve and are very efficient. They have above average bass response and are very sensitive, so require little power to play back at high levels. One does have to be careful with them as they are not of the sturdiest construction - those Sony headphones are much better in that regard. But the Sony MDR-7506 and its cousin the MDR-V6 have noticeably harsh treble and weak bass. However, the Sony MDR-7506 is something of a standard in pro audio, particularly for live performance.

 

[staticV3]

I found this for you, does this show the phones out impedance ?

No.

 

[WaynesterUK]

No.

Will my mixer be able to drive the 250 ohms model or should I try the 32 ohms??

 

[ehabheikal]

I am not a pro like the others on this thread but the m50x has low distortion and is rugged for a mostly plastic can.

 

[staticV3]

Will my mixer be able to drive the 250 ohms model or should I try the 32 ohms??

Soundcraft claim 300mW at 150Ω (=6.7Vrms)

We can safely asume that output voltage will stay constant, or at most increase slightly with the higher impedance of the DT 770 Pro 250Ω.

Considering the DT 770 Pro 250Ω sensitivity of 101dB/Vrms, a conservative estimate would be 101+20*log10(6.7)=117.5dB SPL Peak.

For reference, my usual listening volume is less than 10% of what the EFX12 + DT 770 Pro 250Ω is capable of. 117dB SPL Peak will blow your ears off.

Estimating the maximum output level with the DT 770 Pro 32Ω is not possible with the available data.

However, I can all but guarantee that the EFX12 will provide cleaner (=lower distortion) output with high impedance headphones.

Since it has the power to drive the 250Ω DT 770 Pro, if I had to choose one DT 770 Pro version for the EFX12, it would be that one.

That being said, If I already owned the EFX12, DT 770 Pro 80Ω, and MDR-7506, then I'd definitely not buy yet another DT 770 Pro. Its sound quality just does not justify the price.

Instead I'd look into some open-backed headphones (HD560S etc), or a dedicated Headphone Amp (e.g. L30II), so that I would not have to work around the likely poor quality internal Amp of the EFX12.

 

[1337wafflezz]

Personally if you don’t mind the fit, comfort and less soundstage I would recommend a pair of IEMs over headphones. That being said, for headphones only?…
Closed backs I’ve never tried but the akg k361 shows good compliance for a good sound target curve out of the box. I have a pair of MH751(slightly tweaked takstar pro 82s). I somewhat disagree with Amir here I think they sound good out of the box. I don’t EQ(yet) so to me the standard sound out of the box was acceptable, “good” even. Yes there are durability issues… my pair at church has a huge channel imbalance so I would still beware and increase budget if you can. For openbacks there’s really only one good option…and that is the HD6XX/HD600. There’s a few others but those are still a juggernaut in the $200ish price segment. Sennheiser has a few other models that are alright I guess like the 490 Pro but…
I mean the dan clark stuff measures really well but that stuff is more than a mortgage payment

 

[markanini]

Lots of good suggestions for OP. I will only add if you have a spare 20 pounds it will be worth trying one of the great budget IEMs such as Truthe Gate. It's not better or worse than over ears for stage or rehearsal, but if they fit well you will appreciate the reduced bulk.